McKenzie River - Sisters forest fire

Does anyone have info on the Sisters Forest fire and its proximity to the Mckenzie river trail? We are planning on doing that ride this weekend and are wondering if the road is open from the Sisters side and if we are going to be breathing smoke for 26 miles.

Favorable weather is expected to continue today, but hot, dry air and gustier winds that may move into the area by Wednesday could pose additional challenges to the 400-plus firefighters who are battling the Shadow Lake blaze.

On Monday, firefighters working the lightning-caused fire near Big Lake began “burn-out” operations. Crews lit fires near containment lines to remove trees and other fuel separating the main fire from a number of popular lakeside recreation areas.

“We want it to burn on our terms,” Eriksen said.

Officials during the weekend evacuated campgrounds surrounding the lake. The Pacific Crest Trail through the area remains closed.

Smoke from the fire on Sunday wafted into the Eugene-Springfield area carried by winds from the east. But on Monday, winds from the northwest began pushing the smoky air away.

Particulate levels in the air gradually dropped throughout the day Monday as measured by the Lane Regional Air Protection Agency’s monitoring stations in Eugene, Springfield, Cottage Grove and Oakidge. The particulate levels in the air caused Eugene’s air quality on Sunday to drop from good to “moderate,” according to LRAPA. As of Monday night, LRAPA was forecasting good air quality for today in Eugene-Springfield and Oakridge. The Shadow Lake fire remained mostly within the Mount Washington Wilderness Area, but briefly edged out of the area when it scorched about 100 acres. Firefighters have contained that outbreak, spokeswoman Sommer Moore said.

The National Weather Service on Monday issued a “fire weather watch” from late tonight through Thursday evening in areas that include the Willamette and Mount Hood national forests. Hot and dry conditions are expected to generate a “highly favorable burning environment,” according to the weather service.

Shadow Lake Fire officials will host a public meeting at 7 p.m. tonight at Sisters Elementary School to provide fire updates and answer questions on the firefighting strategy, Eriksen said.

The Shadow Lake Fire was discovered on Aug. 28, after thunderstorms moved through the area.

The fire is one of several large blazes in Oregon. The largest — the High Cascades Complex on the Warm Springs Indian Reservation — has burned 100,000 acres. It is mostly contained, as is a 57,000-acre fire near the John Day Fossil Beds in Central Oregon.

On Mount Hood, firefighters were defending against the spread of a wildfire three miles from the Bull Run watershed, which supplies drinking water to Portland.

A temperature inversion that held smoke down and denied oxygen to the flames lifted in the afternoon, said fire spokesman Earl Cordes, but that blaze hadn’t made significant runs.

I rode MRT over the weekend and the lower half was pretty darn smokey. Enough that there was ash falling like light snow. It all depends on the wind and how far along the efforts to put it out are though.